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1. Increasing Student Engagement, Fraction Knowledge, and STEM Interest Through Game-Based Intervention

   Hunt, J; Taub; M; Marino, M; Holman, K; Womack-Adams, K (January 2025, Journal of Special Education Technology)

   In this study, we evaluate the impact of a game-based supplemental fraction curriculum on student engagement, fraction knowledge, and STEM interest in inclusive elementary mathematics classrooms. Utilizing a robust experimental design, the research explores how a game-based interventions can augment traditional fraction instruction and promote STEM interest among students, including those with disabilities. The curriculum, grounded in Scheme Theory and Learning Trajectories, significantly improved students’ fraction understanding and STEM interest. These findings highlight the potential of integrating game-based learning into mathematics education to address foundational STEM concepts and advocate for further research to explore scalability and broader applicability. The results of the study underscore the potential of innovative educational strategies to enhance learning outcomes and fostering interest in STEM careers among diverse student populations. 

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2. Effects of Game-Enhanced Supplemental Fraction Curriculum on Student Engagement, Fraction Knowledge, and STEM Interest

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070646  

   Hunt, Jessica H.; Taub, Michelle; Marino, Matthew; Duarte, Alejandra; Bentley, Brianna; Holman, Kenneth; Kuhlman, Adrian (July 2023, Education Sciences)

   People with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM as well as information, communication, and technology (ICT) careers. The underrepresentation of individuals with disabilities in STEM may reflect systemic issues of access. Curricular materials that allow students to demonstrate their current fraction knowledge through multiple means and provide opportunities to share and explain their thinking with others may address issues of access students face in elementary school. In this study, we employed a sequential mixed-methods design to investigate how game-enhanced fraction intervention impacts students’ fraction knowledge, engagement, and STEM interests. Quantitative results revealed statistically significant effects of the program on students’ fraction understanding and engagement but not their STEM interest. Qualitative analyses revealed three themes—(1) Accessible, Enjoyable Learning, (2) Can’t Relate, and (3) Dreaming Bigger—that provided contextual backing for the quantitative results. Implications for future research and development are shared. 

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3. Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions and Enactment of Supplemental, Game-Enhanced Fraction Intervention

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111071  

   Hunt, Jessica; Taub, Michelle; Duarte, Alejandra; Bentley, Brianna; Womack-Adams, Kelly; Marino, Matthew; Holman, Kenneth; Kuhlman, Adrian (November 2023, Education Sciences)

   Curricula enhanced through the use of digital games can benefit students in their interest and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) concepts. Elementary teachers’ likelihood to embrace and use game-enhanced instructional approaches with integrity in mathematics has not been extensively studied. In this study, a sequential mixed methods design was employed to investigate the feasibility of a game-enhanced supplemental fraction curriculum in elementary classrooms, including how teachers implemented the curriculum, their perspectives and experiences as they used it, and their students’ resulting fraction learning and STEM interest. Teachers implemented the supplemental curriculum with varying adherence but had common experiences throughout their implementation. Teachers expressed experiences related to (1) time, (2) curriculum being too different, and (3) too difficult for students. Their strategies to handle those phenomena varied. Teachers that demonstrated higher adherence to the game-enhanced supplemental fraction curriculum had students that displayed higher STEM interest and fraction learning. While this study helps to better understand elementary teachers’ experiences with game-enhanced mathematics curricula, implications for further research and program development are also discussed. 

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4. The Gamification of XFEL Education Using XFEL Crystal Blaster

   https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12050671  

   Kabayiza, Fiacre; Woodruff, Sarah B; Bauer, William J (May 2022, Crystals)

   Novel groundbreaking techniques, such as serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), which utilizes X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), have led to impressive advances in the field of structural biology. However, educating the next generation of scientists on this complex, advanced, and continuously evolving field can be challenging. Gamification has been shown to be an effective strategy for engaging new learners and has a positive influence on knowledge acquisition, student satisfaction, and motivation. Here, we present an educational game, XFEL Crystal Blaster, aimed at increasing middle and high school students’ exposure to advanced topics in crystallography. This simple and accessible game is available on multiple platforms, is intuitive for gamers, and requires no prior knowledge of the game’s content. The assessment of students’ experiences with the game suggests that the XFEL Crystal Blaster game is likely to develop some introductory knowledge of XFELs and X-ray crystallography and increase interest in learning more about X-ray crystallography. Both of these outcomes are key to engaging students in the exploration of emerging scientific fields that are potential career pathways. 

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5. Examining the timing of metacognitive monitoring judgments in a game-based learning environment.

   Nietfeld, J. L. (March 2022, Proceedings from the Annual meeting of International, Technology, Education and Development Conference)

   The purpose of the current study was to analyze the impact of delayed monitoring judgments on both monitoring accuracy and science knowledge in a game-based learning environment called MISSING MONTY. Fifth-grade students from public schools in the USA were randomly assigned to either an immediate monitoring (IM) (n = 142) condition or to a delayed monitoring (DM) condition (n = 171). All students completed a pre and posttest of science knowledge and made item-level confidence judgments on each test. The students then played MISSING MONTY for approximately 2-5 weeks depending upon class schedule. During gameplay students visited various animal researchers, read informational texts, and completed knowledge and monitoring challenges. In the IM condition, students rated their confidence on a 100-point scale immediately following each item. In the DM condition, the students first completed the knowledge challenge and then provided monitoring judgments following the completion of all items. Results showed significant improvements for science knowledge and monitoring accuracy for both groups, however no significant differences were found between the two conditions Thus, MISSING MONTY appeared to have positive effects on both resultant science knowledge and monitoring accuracy regardless of when monitoring was assessed. Implications for the design of learning environments and SRL will be discussed. 

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